Casting operation and device therefor



Sept. 22, 1925. 1,554,445

A. LOUG HRAN CASTING OPERATION AND DEVICE'THEREFOR Filed March 26, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR E 3W, 2

A TTOR/VEYS.

Sept. 22, 1925.

1,554,445 A; LOUGHRAN CASTING .OPERATIbN AND DEVICE THEREFQR 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 26, 1925 mvmron Sept, 22; 19,25. 1,554,445

v A. LOUGHRAN CASTING OPERATION M'ID DEVICE THEREFOR Filed March 26 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Sept. 22, 1925.

- A. LOUGHRAN CAsTING -OPERATION AND DEVICE THEREFOR Filed March 26, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVIENTOR I /zmd Qua ATTORNEY Sept.-22, 1925. 1,554,445

A. LOUGHRAN CASTING OPERATION AND DEVICE THEREFOR Filed March 26, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 A TTOHIVEYS.

Sept. 22, 1925. 1,554,445

A. L()U(3PiR/\N CASTING OPERATION AED DEVICE THEREFOR Filed March 26, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR QDYEHF ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 22, 1925.

UNITED STAT-ES PATENT orrrce ALEXIUS LOUGHBAN, OF-BROOKLYN, NEW YO K;

CASTING OPEBATI ON ANT) DEVICE THEREFOR;

Application filed March'26, 1924. Serial No. 701,906;

aboutthe'foundry, and to pack'it into the molds by manual labor, thus costing considerable consumption of time and work with consequent high expense. As an improvement to alleviate these conditions, the sandslinger has been introduced in order that'the sand maybe packed speedily and forcibly into the molds at high'velocity; This has enabled the work to be speeded up but it has, at the same time, increased the difliculty of handling the large amount of sand required to feed the sandslinger, and to be removedtherefrom without losing' any during handling, or scattering it about'the foundry room.

I have previouslyfiled an application,-

SerialNo. 660,468, September 1, 1923, for an' improvement-in a: sandslinger machine, wherein a'pile of sand is operated upon by a screw conveyor to consume the pile of sand during the work, and to transport itto the sandslinger positioned adjacent the molds Means have also been provided for dumping the sand and transport it back to the sand pile to reform the pile at therother side of the screw conveyor so thatthe pile will be reformed as fast as it is consumed. The specific manner of handling the sand and performing the casting is described in said application so that a: further description is herein unnecessary, reference being made to said application for particulars with which it is concerned.

The present invention involves a method of handling and transporting the sand and the castings, together with devices used in performing the method, as will more fully hereinafter appear in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the in- Vention.

The latter is shown in the accompanying drawings which form'a part-ofthe dis closure, and in said drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a planof the entire layout, similar to Fig. 1 of-th'e' aforesaid application;

F ig. 2 shows the system-of three belts for removing the sand from underneath the moldsjback to the pit into which the-sand from the cope and drag is dumped;- Fig.- 3' is an elevation (under ground) of the belt underneath the grating;

Figg l is also an elevation of the inclined belt v F .5 is an elevation of the'belt deliver mg to the pit;

Fig. '6 is a section on the line 66"'-of Fig. 7 is a plan View of a prefe rred em'-. bodiment of the track'around the sand pile Fig. 8 is a View on the line 8'.-8'of Fig-:7

Fig. 9'is a view on the line 9 -9 of Fig.1?

Fig. 10 is an elevation of thetrackndjacent the sandslinger;

Fig. ll is 'a section through the pallet conveyor; and

Fig. 12'is a section through thecar and pallet thereof.

There is'shown along sand 'pile l lying between tracks '2 and 3upon' which the mov able tractor is adapted to travel: Thelatte'r is shown ate and isbcomposedessentially of spiral conveyorsfi and 6 serving to move the sand inwardlyfrom the tracks and to an elevator 7, servingto lift the sand. The sand is dumped from thetopi 0f the'tractor onto a short belt 8, this belt serving to conveythe sand to a belt 9 which in turn'trans ports the sand to a sandslinger structure '10 having atits end a :sandslingin'g: mechanism 11 rotating 'at high velocity. as is well under stood in this art. The molds 12 are shown positioned about the sandslinger in any desired form, so that the operator can direct the sand into the molds. Cars, suchas 213, are placed upon tracks lt"and"the molds after being filled, are placed on the cars, ready for transportation tothe'ladle 15.

Preferablyv only one moldis placed on a car, for in that manner it will be better supported and the car will not havea tendency'to tipj the'mold. Cars are su'cc'essively moved along'the track toward the ladle'and the molds are placed upon-their cars" 16 mnningontrack l7 sothat the molding features common to both cases.

operation can be conducted from the ladle at any desired point along the tracks. The cupola is shown at 18. Thereafter the molds are moved along tracks 19 upon cars 20 and brought adjacent the dumping mechanism comprising a grating 21 upon which the castings and sand are dumped. The sand falls into a pit 22 whenceit is conveyed by an elevator 23 to a belt 24 which delivers it onto an electrically operated shuttle belt 38 so positioned and manipulated as to return the sand to the pile in the rear of the conveyor 4, thus reforming the pile as it is consumed. The castings are placed on an elevator 89 which carries them to a high altitude, to a position where they may roll down an inclined runway 40. During their descent they will be somewhat cleaned from adhering particles but in order to accomplish this more fully rumbles may be placed near the top of the elevator 89 and also if desired alternatively, at the bottom of the runway 40 so that the castings may be continuously rumbled as they are discharged. The rumbling operation removes all objectionable particles and smoothes off the castings as far as possible so they will be in finished condition. The present casting operation is described with particular reference to the manufacture of sash weights. The cars 20 are returned via tracks 41 to the initial position '13 of the cars, it being understood that the car makes a complete circuit.

So far the operation has been described on the basis of the drawings of the former application in order to set forth the salient It is, however, desired to add to, and modify, the former'practice by providing a rake-down device adjacent the screws 5 and 6 so that the sand may be raked down from the pile into the conveyors in order to dispense with manual labor. The dumping devices have been placed on the inside of the track 19, as contrasted with the original drawings of the other application, but it will be understood that this is an arrangement of convenience and does not alter the essential operation.

In the present invention, as one feature thereof, it is desired to dispense with wooden platforms for service on the cars, and to substitute therefor metal castings, preferably of as light weight as possible, so as to reduce the weight of the car itself. This casting will support the molds and will rest upon the car in such a manner that it may be readily rolled therefrom, from one car to another, or to receiving platforms, if the latter are used. The metallic pallet 42 has depressed portions 43 forming supports adapted to rest on rollers 44 in the cars and in this manner they may be readily shifted about. As previously stated, one mold goes onto a single pallet or car so that it will be evenly supported and thus greatly reduce the number of breakages of the molds after being placed thereon.

Adjacent the sandslinger and underneath the molds 12 is provided a rather large grating 45 which forms part of the floor, this grating allowing the sand to fall therethrough and down into a funnel-shaped device 46 from which it is delivered onto a horizontal belt 47 which is parallel to the track 14 and which delivers the sand downwardly through a chute 48 onto another belt 49 which is upwardly inclined and elevates the sand to a point near the floor whence it is further conveyed through a funnel or guiding means 50 onto a belt 51 which carries it horizontally over to the bucket elevator 23, thus dumping all of the sand into the same pit 22. The elevator 51 is parallel to the track 19.

A motor 52 is positioned in a corner of the passageway and through suitable gearing operates driving shafts 53 and 54 so as to operate the belts as will easily be understood from the drawings. evident that the sand, as it is conveyed to the sandslinger, may be rapidly pounded into the molds 12 and even though it is scattered about to some extent it will fall through the grating 45 and will be entirely directed onto the first belt 47 from whence the other two belts will carry it to the pit 22 and thus ultimately insure its return to the sand pile without loss of sand and without the neces-" sity of refilling it or handling it in any way.

As a preferred deviation from the showing in the aforesaid patent application, it is desirable to provide means for moving the pallets about the sand pile in a manner such as that shown in Figs. 7 to 11. For this purpose a trackway 55 is built which is substantially level throughout its length except at its right-hand portion 56 where it is upwardly elevated to receive the pallets coming down the track 56 which is simply inclined downwardly to allow the pallets and the cars to roll down into position before the sandslinger, positioned at about the point 57, as in Fig. 1. The cars and pallets are moved along the pile in the direction of the arrow 58 over to a point 59 where the casting It is therefore a lift is performed. They are then engaged by the pallet conveyor at 60 and elevated to the track 61 which is inclined downwardly over to track 62. At the point 63 the latter reaches the bottom of its decline, adjacent the dumping grating, such as 21 in Fig. 1. Another elevator 64 elevates the pallets to a track 65 along which they gradually roll down to track 56 and thence back in front of the sandslinger. The pallet elevators are operated from motors such as 66 and 67 by a suitable system of gears 68 and the elevators may be in the form of endless belts provided with flexibly mounted slats so as to support I the pallets. The whole system is desig'ned to provide ro'rtheeasy handling and transand thenceback again to the sandslinger,

with as much saving of labor as possible.

Fig. 11 represents a section of th e conveyor, showing the aforesaid slats or supporting members 69, the rollers being designated 70.

The operation of the mechanism and de vices will already be evident from the pre ceding description and it will therefore suffice to say that at every point the handling and transportation of the sand is made automatic, as far as possible so as greatly to reduce the amount of labor necessary and to increase the rapidity of the molding and casting operations, without in any manner impeding the handling of the copes and drags, and the cars and pallets. All of these necessary devices are brought up to their work and are moved away therefrom as fast as the sandslinger can proceed with its work and as fast as the molders can cast the metal.

It will therefore be evident that herein a great improvement has been made in economics of foundry operation since by the present operation neither the sand nor the the operating devices get in the way of the workers and the manual labor necessary has been reduced to the lowest possible point in large scale production. Where such articles as sash weights are made, the necessity for rapid, economical, and ultimate cheap operation is most essential and in this respect the present invention is of particular importance since, as before outlined, it permits my method to proceed with the utmost dispatch and efficiency.

It is desirable to wind up the operation by allowing the cast sash weights to roll down the drive shaft 40 so as to rub off as much sand and metallic particles as possible. This operation may be assisted by placing rumbles on the floor at the bottom of the guideway 40 so that the sash weight can be cleaned off before being made ready for shipment.

It will be understood that the cars may be used as in the former application, or that pallets, as herein described, may be used in the modification of the invention. WVhen the pallets are used the cars are dispensed with entirely as the pallets move by gravity over the gravity rollers.

While the belt 8 may be used, other means may be employed, such as a revolving turntable provided with a scraper to scrape the sand onto the belt 9.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof it is to be understood that i 1 no not intend 'to limit m selffito the specific embed merit thereof except as iii'dicatediii'i' tlie appended claims.

I claim: v v,

1'. The method "of handling"mold's *in foundry operations compri ing pla'cin'gthe molds upon pallets of metal, transporting them to the la'dle, then elevating them oilto a track so that they may rb-Iidewn to a dumping position, dumping the molds to separate the sand and castings, and then elevating the pallet and molds to an inclined track so that they may be rolled back to the initial position. I

2. The combination of a stationary sandslinger, movable means for conveying sand from a sand pile on the ground to said sandslinger, an elevated track around the sand pile, a ladle adjacent the track, cars for carrying molds adapted to run on the track, and an inclined portion in the track near the ladle to cause the cars to move by gravity.

3. The invention in claim 2 in combination with a dumping pit adjacent said track and an inclined portion in the track to cause the cars to run therefrom back to the sandslinger. V

4. The invention in claim 2 in combination with a grating beneath the sandslinger and a belt under the floor level for conveying the sand back to the sand pile.

5. The invention in claim 2 in combination with a dumping pit, an elevated por tion in the track adjacent said pit, a grating beneath the sand slinger, andconveyors I beneath the floor level for conveying the sand to said pit, and thence back to the sand pile.

6. The combination of a stationary sandslinger, movable means for conveying sand from a sand pile to said sandslinger, a. grating adjacent the sandslinger to receive the sand therefrom, and means for removing the sand from beneath the grating and back to the sand pile and conveying means for v the molds from the sandslinger to a ladle and thence back to the sandslinger.

7. The combination of a stationary sandslinger, movable means for carrying sand from a sand pile .to said sandslinger, a pit for receiving the sand dumped from molds ceive sand from dumping molds after castmg operatlons, and an elevator for elevating the sand over to the sand pile.

9. The combination of a stationary sandslinger with means for conveying sand from a sand pile to said sandslinger, means for conveying molds from the sandslinger to a ladle, means for conveying the molds and castings to a dumping place, a pit adjacent 10 the dumping place to receive the sand dumped out, means for conveying sand from the dumping place back to the sand pile, a grating adjacent the sandslinger level with the floor, and conveying means for removing the sand falling through the grating over to the aforesaid pit.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand this 25th day of March 1924:.

ALEXIUS LOUGHRAN. 

